Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Bioremediation of endosulfan contaminated soil and

waterOptimization of operating conditions
in laboratory scale reactors
Mathava kumar, Ligy Philip
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
Received 28 June 2005; received in revised form 12 December 2005; accepted 13 December 2005
Available online 30 May 2006

Abstract
A mixed bacterial culture consisted of Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus circulans-I and -II has been enriched from contaminated soil collected from
the vicinity of an endosulfan processing industry. The degradation of endosulfan by mixed bacterial culture was studied in aerobic and facultative
anaerobic conditions via batch experiments with an initial endosulfan concentration of 50 mg/L. After 3 weeks of incubation, mixed bacterial culture
was able to degrade 71.58 0.2% and 75.88 0.2% of endosulfan in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions, respectively. The addition of
external carbon (dextrose) increased the endosulfan degradation in both the conditions. The optimal dextrose concentration and inoculum size
was estimated as 1 g/L and 75 mg/L, respectively. The pH of the system has significant effect on endosulfan degradation. The degradation of
alpha endosulfan was more compared to beta endosulfan in all the experiments. Endosulfan biodegradation in soil was evaluated by miniature
and bench scale soil reactors. The soils used for the biodegradation experiments were identified as clayey soil (CL, lean clay with sand), red soil
(GM, silty gravel with sand), sandy soil (SM, silty sand with gravel) and composted soil (PT, peat) as per ASTM (American society for testing and
materials) standards. Endosulfan degradation efficiency in miniature soil reactors were in the order of sandy soil followed by red soil, composted
soil and clayey soil in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In bench scale soil reactors, endosulfan degradation was observed more in the bottom
layers. After 4 weeks, maximum endosulfan degradation efficiency of 95.48 0.17% was observed in red soil reactor where as in composted soil-I
(moisture 38 1%) and composted soil-II (moisture 45 1%) it was 96.03 0.23% and 94.84 0.19%, respectively. The high moisture content
in compost soil reactor-II increased the endosulfan concentration in the leachate. Known intermediate metabolites of endosulfan were absent in all
the above degradation studies.
2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Endosulfan; Mixed culture; Biodegradation; Staphylococcus sp.; Bacillus circulans

1. Introduction
Endosulfan, a sulphurous acid ester of a chlorinated cyclic
diol [1] is a mixture of two stereo isomers alpha and beta endosulfan in a ratio of 7:3 (Fig. 1) and registered with several trade
marks, Thiodan, Cyclodan, Thimol, Thiofar and Malix. It is
extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates and has been
implicated in mammalian toxicity [2], genotoxicity [3], and neurotoxicity [4]. It enters the air, water, and soil environments
during its use, and manufacture. Endosulfan is highly insolu-

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 2257 4274; fax: +91 44 2257 4252.
E-mail address: ligy@iitm.ac.in (L. Philip).

0304-3894/$ see front matter 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2005.12.023

ble in water. Hence, mostly it will be associated with soil. It is

reported that, the half-life of soil bound endosulfan was much
higher than that of aqueous forms. However, half-life of endosulfan in sandy loam soil is reported to be between 60 and 800
days and the rate of endosulfan degradation in soil is dependent
on soil pH [1], which can be a source of later contamination.
These health and environmental concerns have led to an interest
in detoxification of endosulfan in the environment.
Bioremediation is employed for the decontamination of many
pollutants such as pentachlorophenol [5,6], diesel oil [7], herbicides [8,9], polyaromatic hydrocarbons [10,11]. Endosulfan
degradation in aqueous systems by biological methods using
many bacterial and fungal cultures was investigated [1217].
However, the scenario of endosulfan degradation via bacterial

M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

355

Fig. 1. Molecular structure of endosulfan and its two stereo isomers.

isolates in aqueous and soil environments is different. Properties

of pollutants and the characteristics of the soil like clay content,
organic matter content and soil texture have influence on the
degradation process [18].
In order to develop a suitable field soil bioremediation system,
it is essential to have the information regarding the adsorption,
desorption characteristics of the concerned pollutant in soil, optimum operating conditions of the bio-system, i.e. pH, effect of
co-metabolism, population size of specific microorganism and
the performance evaluation through detailed laboratory studies. No detailed study has been conducted to evaluate these
parameters for endosulfan degradation using mixed bacterial
consortium. Also, the impact of soil properties and the effect
of exogenous cells on soil applied endosulfan degradation have
not been quantified in detail.
In the present study, endosulfan-degradation potential of a
mixed bacterial culture in soil was examined via bench scale
soil reactors. The optimization of operating parameters for the
degradation of endosulfan by a mixed bacterial consortium was
also carried out in laboratory scale reactors.

(CL, lean clay with sand), red soil (GM, silty gravel with
sand), composted soil (PT, peat) and sandy soil (SM, silty
sand with gravel) [19]. The soils were sieved through IS
sieve No. 10 (2 mm aperture as per IS 2720 (Part 4), 1987).
The fraction passing through the sieve was collected and
preserved in air tight plastic containers for biodegradation
studies.
3. Analytical techniques
Endosulfan, its isomers and degradation products, i.e. endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan ether and endosulfan lactone were
analyzed by Perkin-Elmer Clarus 500 gas chromatograph with
electron capture detection (GC/ECD). Under these conditions
the retention time for alpha endosulfan, beta endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan ether and endosulfan lactone was
6.31, 9.36, 11.95, 3.72 and 6.42 min, respectively, and the chromatogram is shown in Fig. 2(a) [19].
Bacterial cells in the systems were measured using a UV
digital spectrometer (Techcomp, Hong Kong) in fixed-point
measurement at 550 nm [20].

2. Materials and methods

4. Experimental procedure
2.1. Chemicals
4.1. Inoculum
High purity (99.4%) endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan ether and endosulfan lactone was purchased from
SigmaAldrich Ltd., USA, and technical grade endosulfan of
96% purity was purchased from EID Parry India Ltd., Chennai,
India. Other chemical reagents and solvents used were of HPLC
grade purchased from Ranbaxy Ltd., Chennai, India. The stock
endosulfan solution of 1% was prepared in methanol and used
for all the experiments. All the glassware used was supplied by
Borosil, India, and before every experiment, all glassware were
cleaned with distilled water and dried at 110 C for 5 h.

A mixed bacterial culture, previously isolated by selective

enrichment on endosulfan [20] was used. It consists of three
strains, i.e. Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus circulans-I and -II that
have been deposited in the Gene Bank (MTCC) at Chandigarh,
India as MTCC 6801, MTCC 6802 and MTCC 6803, respectively. The cultures were grown in nutrient broth (NB) [20],
centrifuged, washed, suspended in fresh NB, and were used as
inoculum for all the biodegradation studies.

2.2. Soils for endosulfan degradation studies

4.2. Effect of supplementary carbon source on endosulfan

degradation in aqueous system

Most common Indian soils were selected for the biodegradation experiments and they were classified as clayey soil

Technical endosulfan (from 1% stock solution prepared in

methanol) was amended in conical flasks containing 200 mL of

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M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Fig. 2. (a) Chromatogram of endosulfan and its metabolites at standard operating condition. (b) Chromatogram of reactor effluent extracts during biodegradation at
5, 7, 14 and 21 days at standard operating condition.

NB to receive a final endosulfan concentration of 50 ppm. Dextrose was supplied as a supplementary carbon at concentrations
of 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/L and the pH of the medium was maintained
at 7. Predetermined concentration of bacterial cells corresponds
to OD550 0.15 (75 mg/L) were inoculated and the flasks were
kept in an orbital shaker at 28 2 C at 150 rpm. The studies
were conducted in both aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions for 21 days. Nitrogen gas was purged into anaerobic
flasks and immediately sealed with air tight septum to maintain the anaerobic condition. At various time intervals (0, 2, 5,
7, 10, 14 and 21 days) samples were withdrawn from the conical flasks and analyzed for residual endosulfan concentration
using GC/ECD. After collecting the samples from anaerobic
flasks, nitrogen gas was purged again and sealed with air tight
septum.

4.4. Effect of pH on endosulfan degradation in aqueous

system

4.3. Effect of inoculum size on endosulfan degradation in

aqueous system

4.5. Endosulfan degradation studies in soil

Different microbial cell concentrations corresponds to 50,

75, 100, and 150 mg/L were inoculated to eight identical conical flasks containing 100 mL of NB, previously amended with
endosulfan concentration of 50 ppm. The pH of the medium was
adjusted to 7 and no supplementary carbon was added throughout. The flasks were kept in an orbital shaker at 28 2 C and
150 rpm. Experiments were conducted in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Five millilitres of sample was collected from the
flasks at 2, 4, 7, 10, 14 and 21 days and analyzed for endosulfan
concentration.

NB was prepared as above with an endosulfan concentration

of 50 ppm in identical conical flasks. The pH of the medium was
adjusted to 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10 with the addition of hydrochloric
acid (HCl)/sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions. After adjusting
the pH, predetermined concentration of bacterial cells (75 mg/L
at OD550 0.15) was inoculated. The inoculated flasks were kept
in an orbital shaker at 28 2 C and 150 rpm for 21 days. Blank
control reactors were operated simultaneously for all the pH.
The samples were collected from the controlled flasks at 0, 2, 5,
7, 10, 14 and 21 days and analyzed for endosulfan concentration
using GC/ECD. A blank reactor with distilled water alone was
also operated to see the effect of hydrolysis at higher pH (pH 10).

4.5.1. Miniature soil reactor studies

To evaluate the optimum conditions for bioremediation,
miniature reactors were employed. Soil employed for all the
biotransformation studies were sterilized in a hot air oven
at 150 C for 2 h. The miniature soil reactors were of 50 mL
capacity conical flasks in which the soil samples, i.e. red soil,
sandy soil, clay soil and composted soil of 25 g (oven dried and
amended with endosulfan to reach a final endosulfan concentration of 2 mg/g of soil) were placed. Endosulfan amended soil
samples were inoculated with 75 mg/g of bacterial cells mixed
with NB and added into the reactor. The reactors were operated

M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Fig. 3. (a) Schematic diagram of miniature soil reactor; (b) bench scale soil
reactor.

in fully saturated condition. Simultaneously, blank rectors

(with endosulfan and without bacterial cells) were operated
with similar operating parameters in aerobic and anaerobic
conditions. The performance of the reactors was monitored regularly under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The schematic
diagram of the miniature reactor is shown in Fig. 3(a). The
experiments were conducted in triplicate. At time intervals of
2, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days, the contents of the reactor were mixed
well/homogenized in a shaker. From the homogenized contents
of the reactors (triplicate), two samples of 0.5 g was collected
and analyzed for residual endosulfan concentration. Similar,
sampling collection methodology was adopted for leachate
collection also. At time intervals of 2, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days,
0.5 mL of the supernatant was also collected from the soil
reactor and analyzed for endosulfan concentration. The mean
with standard deviation was calculated for each sample (totally
six samples at each sampling interval) and was reported in each
case.
4.5.2. Bench scale soil reactors for endosulfan degradation
The bench scale reactors were simulated in the laboratory in
such a way to represent the contamination of pesticide in an agricultural land. The reactors were made up of 3 mm thick acrylic
transparent sheet. The top compartment has 10 cm diameter and
25 cm height with three sample collection ports located at 10, 15,
20 cm from the top. The bottom compartment is 12 cm in diam-

357

eter and 10 cm in height, which was used as leachate collector.

A schematic diagram of the reactor is shown in Fig. 3(b).
Three reactors were started simultaneously, including one
red soil reactor and two composted soil reactors. To study the
effect of moisture content in bench scale reactors, two composted
soil reactors were operated with different moisture contents, one
with 38 1% and other with 45 1% named as composted soil
reactor-I and -II, respectively. Soils employed for all biotransformation studies were sterilized by keeping it in a hot air oven
at 150 C for 2 h. One hundred millilitres of 1% stock endosulfan
solution (in methanol) was mixed with 1000 g of soil. In each
soil, final endosulfan concentration was estimated as 0.98 mg/g
of soil. Later, microbial cells were added to the soils along with
NB and mixed thoroughly. The final microbial concentration
was estimated as 75 mg/g of soil (dry wt.) and the final moisture
content was adjusted as per the requirements with the use of
NB. Glass beads were used as a supporting media, placed in the
bottom of the reactor for a depth of 5 mm. Two thousand grams
of the above soil ingredients was placed in each reactor and
operated with identical conditions. The studies were conducted
in duplicate. The performance of the reactor was monitored for
28 days. At the end of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, two samples of
0.5 g were collected from each port (identified as top, middle and
bottom) of the reactors (duplicate reactors). The collected soil
samples were mixed well/homogenized in a shaker. The homogenized soil samples were extracted with n-hexane and analyzed
for endosulfan concentration. Similar methodology was adopted
for leachate collection. Exactly, 5 mL of leachate was collected
from the bottom chamber, extracted with n-hexane and analyzed
for endosulfan concentration. The moisture content in the reactor was monitored regularly and the decrease in moisture content
due to evaporation/utilization by bacteria was compensated by
the supply of NB. The top of the reactor was covered with wet
cotton and thereby; the system was maintained with uniform
moisture content. The presence of anaerobic condition in the
bench scale reactors was checked by the use of 1% resazurin
indicator (redox indicator).
5. Results and discussion
5.1. Effect of supplementary carbon source
Batch experiments were conducted at an initial endosulfan concentration of 50 mg/L amended in 200 mL of NB with
75 mg/L (0.15 at OD550 ) of mixed microbial cells for a period
of 21 days. Dextrose was added in the systems at 1, 2, 3 and
4 g/L (supplementary carbon) to check the influence of supplementary carbon. At regular intervals, samples were collected
from aerobic and facultative anaerobic systems and analyzed
for endosulfan concentration in GC/ECD.
From our earlier studies it was observed that in the absence
of dextrose, endosulfan degradation efficiency of the mixed
bacterial consortia was 71.58 0.2% and 75.88 0.2% in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions, respectively, at the
end of 21 days [20]. Addition of 1 g/L of dextrose to aerobic system increased the endosulfan degradation efficiency to
80.62 0.18% (Fig. 4(a)), which corresponds to an increase

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M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Table 1
Degradation of alpha and beta endosulfan in the presence and absence of dextrose
at the end of 21 days
Dextrose
addition (g/L)

Degradation at the end of 21 days (%)

Aerobic system
Alpha
endosulfan

0
1
2
3
4

71.29
81.66
81.71
82.94
84.91

0.09
0.15
0.08
0.11
0.11

Anaerobic system
Beta
endosulfan
72.27
78.20
78.40
77.80
78.33

0.02
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.05

Alpha
endosulfan
76.40
85.17
85.43
85.97
85.77

0.13
0.13
0.11
0.15
0.13

Beta
endosulfan
74.67
85.00
85.13
86.27
86.46

Table 2
Growth of mixed and pure bacterial cultures during degradation of endosulfan in the presence and absence of dextrose

0
2
5
7
10
14
18
21
28

Growth of mixed culture

without dextrose (mg/L)a

Growth of mixed culture with

dextrose (mg/L)a

Growth of pure culture in aerobic

condition with dextrose (mg/L)b

Aerobic

Aerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

75
100
175
210
245
270

75
120
195
240
265
275

75
115
190
240
270
280

75
120
210
255
295
320
345
355
350

4
4
3
6
10
8
8
7
6

Anaerobic
75
90
155
210
245
275
300
320
325

3
5
7
7
7
10
5
7
6

75
140
245
280
315
335
360
375
365

4
8
5
5
6
9
9
6
6

1 g/L of dextrose was added to all systems and measured at OD550 .

a Degradation studies conducted at an endosulfan concentration of 50 mg/L.
b Degradation studies conducted at an endosulfan concentration of 5 mg/L.

0.03
0.05
0.03
0.05
0.04

in endosulfan degradation efficiency of 12.63 0.80%. Many

researchers observed that the addition of auxiliary carbon to the
system having xenobiotic compounds increased the biodegradation potential of bacterial and fungal cultures. These findings
were in well agreement with the present study results. Thereafter,
no significant increase in endosulfan degradation efficiency was
observed due to the addition of dextrose, i.e. 2, 3 and 4 g/L.
Degradation efficiency of beta endosulfan (72.27 0.02%) was
slightly more compared to alpha endosulfan (71.29 0.09%)
in the absence of dextrose in aerobic system whereas the addition of dextrose increased the degradation efficiency of alpha
endosulfan more compared to beta endosulfan (Table 1).
In anaerobic condition, addition of 1 g/L of dextrose
increased the endosulfan degradation efficiency by 12.20 1%
(75.88 0.2% to 85.14 0.18%). At concentrations of 2 and
3 g/L the increase in endosulfan degradation was 12.47 0.85%
and 13.42 0.70%, respectively (Fig. 4(b)). Interestingly, in
anaerobic system, addition of dextrose increased the degradation
of beta endosulfan more compared to alpha endosulfan (Table 1).
From these results it can be concluded that co-metabolic process
increased the endosulfan degradation and 1 g/L of dextrose can
be used as an optimum supplementary carbon dose.
Throughout the present study, the intermediate metabolites (endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan lactone, endosulfan diol,
endosulfan ether, endosulfan hydroxy ether and endosulfan
monoaldehyde) reported by previous researchers were not

Fig. 4. (a) Degradation of endosulfan at various supplementary carbon concentrations in aerobic system; (b) in facultative anaerobic system.

Time (days)

Anaerobic
75
110
180
220
260
295
320
340
340

6
5
6
8
8
10
7
8
5

4
5
5
4
6
6

3
7
4
9
7
7

5
8
8
11
8
9

M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

359

observed. Also, the loss due to dissipation was checked with

the help of control reactors (without bacterial culture and with
endosulfan). It was observed that abiotic loss in the system
was negligible. The chromatogram of reactor effluent extracts
at 5, 7, 14 and 21 days during degradation is shown in
Fig. 2(b).
The growth of mixed and pure bacterial cultures during degradation of endosulfan with the presence and absence of endosulfan was shown in Table 2. The maximum specific growth rate of
the mixed culture was 0.0395 0.002 h1 while using dextrose
as carbon source, where as the specific growth rate was only
0.0137 0.001 h1 when methanol was used as the auxiliary
carbon source. This observation shows that, methanol and dextrose can be used by the microorganisms for their cell growth.
When both were available, dextrose was preferred over methanol
[20].
5.2. Effect of inoculum size
The addition of 50 mg/L of bacterial cells to the aerobic system reduced the alpha and beta endosulfan concentration from 35
to 9.38 0.001 ppm and 15 to 5.48 0.003 ppm, respectively,
at the end of 21 days. The increase in bacterial cell concentration to 75 and 100 mg/L increased the endosulfan degradation
efficiency of the system from 70.28 0.18% to 71.58 0.13%
and 72.38 0.30%, respectively (Fig. 5). However, maximum
endosulfan degradation efficiency of 77.38% was observed at an
inoculum size of 150 mg/L after 21 days of incubation.
In anaerobic condition, the initial alpha and beta endosulfan concentrations were reduced to 9.3 0.002 and
4.1 0.002 ppm, respectively, with an inoculum size of 50 mg/L
within 21 days. The increase of bacterial cells to 75 and 100 mg/L
increased the endosulfan degradation efficiency marginally
(Fig. 6). However, the maximum endosulfan degradation efficiency of 77.1 0.28% was achieved at an inoculum size of
150 mg/L. Though it is reported that the increase in inoculum
size had no significant effect on the degradation of soil applied
endosulfan [21], in the present study, it was observed that, the

Fig. 5. Effect of inoculum size on endosulfan degradation in aerobic system.

Fig. 6. Effect of inoculum size on endosulfan degradation in facultative anaerobic condition.

inoculum size is a rate limiting factor in the degradation of endosulfan in aerobic process compared to anaerobic process. When
the bacterial concentration in the system was 75 mg/L, better
performance of the system was observed in both aerobic and
facultative anaerobic conditions. Hence, it can be concluded that
an inoculum size of 75 mg/L can be used as an optimum dose
for endosulfan degradation experiments.
5.3. Effect of pH
Batch experiments were conducted in aerobic and facultative
anaerobic conditions to study the influence of pH on endosulfan
degradation by the microbial consortium. In the present study,
endosulfan was amended directly into nutrient broth (NB) and
endosulfan degradation experiments were conducted at various
pH, i.e. 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10. These pH values are corresponds
to the initial pH of the NB. Later, the pH of the system was
decreased. At the end of the study, pH of the systems was 4.4,
6.2, 7.1, 7.9 and 8.3, respectively. In aerobic condition, at the
end of 21 days, endosulfan degradation efficiency (at pH 4) was
55.7 0.22%. The increase in pH value to 6 and 7 increased
the degradation efficiency to 71.3 0.19% and 71.58 0.27%,
respectively. Further increase in pH value to 8 reduced the
efficiency marginally (71.28 0.2%) and at pH 10 it reduced
drastically (37.56 0.3%). Decrease in pH to 4 and increase
in pH to 10 reduced the endosulfan degradation efficiency by
22.18 1.4% and 47.53 1.45% (compared to neutral pH) at
the end of 21 days (Fig. 7(a)). Similar trends were observed by
Siddique et al. [17] while studying the endosulfan degradation
by enriched fungal and bacterial strains. This may be due to the
decreased growth of microbes at extreme pH. It is reported that
at high pH, hydrolysis of endosulfan was faster [22,23]. In the
present system, nutrient medium was present along with endosulfan in control reactors. Though the initial pH was increased to
10, the final pH reduced to 8.3 at the end of 21 days, whereas, no
significant change in the pH value (pH 9.9 0.1) was observed
in the blank reactor (operated at pH 10) at the end of 21 days.

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M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Fig. 7. (a) Degradation of endosulfan at various pH in aerobic system. (b) Variation of endosulfan metabolites in blank reactor (distilled water) at pH 10. (c)
Degradation of endosulfan at various pH in facultative anaerobic system; (d) in aerobic and facultative anaerobic system at the end of 21 days.

The decrease in pH might have retarded the alkaline hydrolysis. From the control studies (endosulfan amended directly in
NB), it was observed that no intermediate metabolites of endosulfan were detected in any of the system and the abiological
loss of endosulfan in the controlled flasks was negligible. Later,
the control studies were repeated in distilled water (endosulfan
amended in distilled water without NB) where endosulfan diol
and endosulfan ether was observed due to alkaline hydrolysis in
both aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions. Around 20%
of endosulfan was hydrolyzed to endosulfan diol and endosulfan
ether. This value was converted to parent compound equivalents
and it was around 99%. This emphasize the fact that endosulafan
is not getting removed from the system by volatilization. The
accumulation of endosulfan diol and endosulfan ether, in blank
reactors, operated in aerobic and facultative anaerobic systems
is shown in Fig. 7(b).
In facultative anaerobic process (at pH 4) endosulfan
degradation efficiency was 38.64 0.28% and it was increased
to 55.72 0.21% at pH 6. The reduction in efficiency of the
system due to decrease in pH to 4 and 6 was 47.76 1.3%

and 26.57 1.1% (compared to the neutral pH), respectively.

But, increase in pH to alkaline side, i.e. pH 8 and 10 enhanced
the endosulfan degradation efficiency to 75.92 0.18% and
76.24 0.2%, respectively (Fig. 7(c)). Endosulfan degradation
efficiency of mixed culture at the end of 21 days at various
pH was shown in Fig. 7(d). Conversely, the supplementary
carbon source increased the endosulfan degradation efficiency
from 71.58 0.2% to 80.62 0.18% in aerobic condition and
from 75.88 0.2% to 85.14 0.18% in anaerobic condition
at pH 7. For all the pH ranges studied, percentage degradation
of alpha endosulfan was less compared to beta endosulfan
in aerobic condition and vice-versa in anaerobic condition.
The growth of Staphylococcus sp. is more favorable in
facultative anaerobic condition compared to other Bacillus
cultures. In facultative anaerobic system endosulfan might
be utilized mainly by Staphylococcus sp. where as in aerobic system majority of endosulfan was utilized by Bacillus
circulans-I and -II. From our earlier study, it was observed
that Staphylococcus sp. utilized more beta endosulfan and
other Bacillus strains utilized more of alpha endosulfan [20].

M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

These observations were in good agreement with the present

study.
5.4. Soil applied endosulfan degradation studies
Endosulfan degradation in soil is partially different from
degradation in water. Soil adsorption, presence of organic matter,
clay content, silt content and many other factors, which directly
influence the degradation of soil applied endosulfan. Though,
the operating parameters of biodegradation experiments were
optimized in aqueous systems it may not be same for the soil
system. The miniature soil reactors were employed to check the
degradation of endosulfan in different soils with the optimized
operating parameters obtained from the liquid phase studies.
5.4.1. Miniature soil reactor studies
The optimum condition for bioremediation of endosulfancontaminated soils was evaluated through miniature soil reactors. Initially, endosulfan concentration in all soils was maintained uniformly as 2 mg/g of soil and operated in saturated

361

condition with a bacterial concentration of 75 mg/g of soil. The

reactors were operated in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions and the performance of the reactors was monitored for
28 days. Anaerobic soil reactors gave better results compared to
aerobic soil reactors. Among the soil reactors studied, maximum
endosulfan degradation was observed in sandy soil reactors in
both aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions. The endosulfan degradation efficiency of the sandy soil reactor in aerobic
condition was 31.5 0.23%, whereas, in anaerobic condition
it was 32.57 0.18%. Similar trends in the degradation pattern were observed in all other reactors. Endosulfan degradation
efficiency in the soil reactors were in the following order. Sandy
soil followed by red soil (24.75 0.18% and 29.12 0.22%),
composted soil (22.81 0.18% and 27.19 0.15%) and clay
soil (19.17 0.32% and 19.63 0.24%) in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions, respectively (Fig. 8(a) and (b)).
The efficiency of endosulfan degradation was less in clay soil
(19.17 0.32% and 19.63 0.24% in aerobic and anaerobic
conditions, respectively). This may be due to the presence of
more clay and silt content in the soil. The miniature soil reactors

Fig. 8. (a) Kinetics of endosulfan degradation in miniature soil reactors in aerobic condition; (b) in facultative anaerobic condition. (c) Endosulfan degradation in
miniature soil reactors at the end of 28 days in aerobic condition; (d) in facultative anaerobic condition.

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M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

Table 3
Endosulfan degradation in bench scale soil reactors for different soils
Type of
soil

Moisture
content (%)

Endosulfan degradation after 28 days

in different ports of the reactors (%)
Top

Red soil
CS-Ia
CS-IIa
a

38 1
38 1
45 1

Middle

Endosulfan remaining in Endosulfan remaining in the blank

the leachate (mg/L) (%) reactor after 28 days (%)

Bottom

Top

92.13 0.16 94.80 0.22 95.48 0.17 3.7 0.027 (0.185)

89.46 0.21 84.61 0.17 96.03 0.23 1.9 0.012 (0.095)
91.41 0.24 94.83 0.20 94.84 0.19 2.67 0.022 (0.133)

Middle

Bottom

Leachate (mg/L) (%)

81 0.13 103 0.26 110 0.30 4.2 0.025 (0.21)

89 0.21 99 0.24 105 0.17 3.41 0.018 (0.17)
84 0.24 96 0.22 113 0.25 4.68 0.021 (0.23)

Composted soil.

were operated in saturated condition; hence the concentration of

endosulfan in the liquid phase was also analyzed to observe the
endosulfan degradation in the liquid by the microbial consortium. Initially, liquid phase endosulfan concentration (leachate)
was observed more in sandy soil followed by red soil, compost soil and clay soil reactors whereas during operation the
endosulfan degradation in the liquid phase was observed in the
reverse order. Endosulfan degradation (soil phase and liquid
phase) in the miniature soil reactors at the end of 28 days in
aerobic and anaerobic conditions are given in Fig. 8(c) and (d),
respectively.
It was observed from our earlier studies that the attraction/influence of endosulfan molecules towards the clay particles
was high which might have reduced the availability of endosulfan for the microorganisms [19]. This may be the reason for
the decrease in endosulfan degradation efficiency in clayey soil
reactors.
5.4.2. Bench scale soil reactors for the performance
evaluation of endosulfan biodegradation
The purpose of bench scale reactor study was to represent the
contamination of pesticide in an agricultural land. Though, endosulfan degradation was promising in the miniature soil reactors,
the actual field condition would be different from the laboratory
conditions. In miniature soil reactor studies, the reactors were
operated separately in aerobic and anaerobic condition, which
gave an idea about the efficiency of endosulfan degradation in
the above conditions. But in real life situations, prevailing environmental condition may be a combination of both. This often
leads to the failure of a laboratory-designed system. Hence,
it is always better to simulate a reactor, which can represent
actual field condition. To investigate this aspect, bench scale
reactors were designed and the degradation studies were carried
out.
It was observed from the aqueous batch experiments that
the supply of external carbon source increased the endosulfan degradation efficiency and the pH of the system has a
role on endosulfan degradation. Though, dextrose increased
the degradation efficiency of the system, in bench scale reactor no dextrose was added. Endosulfan was amended to soils
directly from stock solution, which is prepared in methanol.
Methanol also acted as a carbon source for the microbes,
though it is a less preferred substrate for the microbial consortia compared to dextrose [20]. The selected soils showed a
very narrow pH variation (7.28.48). Hence, no attempt was

made to change the soil pH during the bench scale soil reactor
studies.
During the operation, the simulated bioreactor has shown two
distinct zones, i.e. top of the reactor was in aerobic condition,
whereas, bottom layers were in anaerobic condition. The entry of
air to the bottom layers may be restricted due to the compaction
of soil and no attempts were made to supply the air in the bottom zone of the reactors. The loss in moisture in the reactor was

Fig. 9. (a) Alpha endosulfan degradation in bench scale reactors. (b) Beta endosulfan degradation in bench scale reactors.

M. kumar, L. Philip / Journal of Hazardous Materials B136 (2006) 354364

compensated by the supply of nutrients from the top layer of

the reactor. Due to this, an increase in endosulfan concentration
was observed in the middle and bottom layers of the reactors in
the fourth week. Red soil reactor exhibited an endosulfan degradation efficiency of around 95.48 0.17% and 92.13 0.16%
in the bottom and top layers after 28 days of operation. On the
other hand, 3.7 0.027 ppm (0.185%) of endosulfan was found
in the leachate collection compartment. The percentage of endosulfan degradation in each port of the soil and blank reactors was
shown in Table 3. From the control reactors it was observed that
no endosulfan was disappeared from the system at the end of 28
days. This reflects that the half-life of endosulfan in composted
soil and red soil was high. Degradation of endosulfan in the bottom layers was more compared to top layers, which proved that
the workability of the culture was high in facultative anaerobic
condition.
Presence of anaerobic condition in the reactor was confirmed
by the use of 1% resazurin indicator (redox indicator). The indicator solution was boiled and 16 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) was
added into it. The contents were well mixed (solution becomes
colour-less) and applied immediately in the bottom layers of
the reactor through a surgical syringe. Due to the prevailing
anaerobic condition the colour-less solution was not turned
into pink, which confirms the absence of oxygen in the bottom layers. These findings were in good agreement with the
aqueous endosulfan degradation experiments. The degradation
of alpha and beta endosulfan at different ports of the reactors is
given in Fig. 9(a) and (b). After 28 days, maximum endosulfan
degradation efficiency of 96.03 0.23% was observed in composted soil reactor-I whereas in composted soil reactor-II it was
94.84 0.19%. More endosulfan concentration was observed in
the leachate chamber of the composted soil reactor-II (0.133%)
than composted soil reactor-I (0.095%). This may be due to
the high moisture content (45 1%) in reactor-II compared to
reactor-I. However, high moisture content did not affect any significant increase in degradation of endosulfan. From the results it
may be concluded that, bioremediation of endosulfan in the field
can effectively be carried out with moisture content of around
3540%.
6. Conclusion
The mixed bacterial consortium was able to mineralize endosulfan in both aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions.
Addition of external carbon source increased the degradation
efficiency. The pH of the system has a significant effect on
endosulfan degradation. The performance of anaerobic soil reactors was better compared to aerobic soil reactors irrespective of
the soil types. Maximum endosulfan degradation efficiency was
observed in sandy soil. In bench scale soil reactors, endosulfan degradation efficiency was more in bottom layers due to
the prevailing anaerobic condition. Throughout the endosulfan
degradation study, no intermediate metabolites were accumulated in the system. The optimum moisture content for the system
was 3540%. The results showed that, the enriched mixed bacterial consortium used in the study can be effectively used for
the treatment of endosulfan contaminated water and soil.

363

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